Faker chosen as the new McDonald’s campaign model

The League of Legends GOAT Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok has been selected by fast food chain McDonald’s (MC) as its latest advertising model, promoting a new limited-edition menu item at the end and beginning of the new Year.

Faker x McDonald’s for the Lucky Burger

Announced by the food and restaurant company, Faker will promote the “Lucky Burger” in Korea, marking the first time an esports athlete has been selected as a campaign model for the product.

According to a report by iNews24, the Lucky Burger has been released at the end of every year since 2013, with the intention of wishing good luck and bringing hope to the people, with around 10 million of Lucky Burgers sold since 2019. Each time a Lucky Burger or set menu is purchased, 100 won (€0.058) is donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities Korea (RMHC Korea), a non-profit that operates across 62 countries.

As one of the most successful and popular esports athletes in the world, Faker’s global influence is comparable to other figures in the entertainment space, especially in Korea. For previous Lucky Burger campaigns, MC chose idol group NCT member Doyoung in 2023 and actor Kim Woo-bin in 2024.

Faker’s influence goes outside of competitive gaming

While the esports season is currently taking a break with the end of the year, Faker has been taking part in several events across the world after winning the championship. On top of attending the latest LCK Awards, Faker also went with T1 to Germany for the Red Bull League of Its Own last month and held a press conference earlier this week to talk about his new contract renewal with T1.

Even though we’re getting close to Christmas, Faker still has a packed schedule ahead of him before putting an end to 2025. He will meet South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on December 20 to conduct an interview session on how to foster the growth of the game industry as well as the expansion of the K-culture, and right after, he and T1 will fly to Vietnam for the VPBank Presents 2025, an esports festival event featuring top Vietnamese League of Legends streamers, pro players, and influencers.